Unfortunately, pain often invades our daily lives. Of course, you can console yourself with the fact that if something hurts, then you are still alive, but it’s better to try to eliminate it anyway. What are the causes of back and abdominal pain, and what should be done to alleviate their condition?
Pain localization
To understand what is happening, you need to find out several parameters that characterize the discomfort that has arisen. In order to accurately determine what could cause back and abdominal pain, you need to try to determine their localization. If everything is more or less clear with back pain, then several steps will have to be performed to examine the abdomen:
- you need to lie on your back and bend your knees a little;
- put your palm on the abdominal wall and in a circular motion gently, but trying to push deeply, determine the place where pressure causes the most pain.
For the convenience of diagnosis, the stomach is schematically divided into right and left halves. In various diseases, the focus of pain canbe in the right or left iliac regions, in the navel, in the right or left hypochondrium. In addition, the pain can be diffuse, when the stomach constantly hurts and it is impossible to determine the specific point where the pain is the strongest.
Character of pain
It is equally important to determine the nature of the pain. They can be dull, aching, squeezing, or, on the contrary, sharp. A very dangerous symptom can be dagger pain (it feels like being hit with a dagger). Also, the pain can be bursting in nature, as if a balloon begins to inflate inside.
It is equally important to determine where the pain radiates (give away). For example, there are often situations when the back hurts below, and these pains are given to the lower abdomen or thigh. Sometimes, on the contrary, abdominal pain can radiate to the lower back. In addition, over time, pain can change localization (with appendicitis, pain is first observed in the epigastric region, but after a while descends to the right iliac region).
Associated factors
To make an accurate diagnosis, it is equally important to determine what triggered the pain; it arose suddenly or developed gradually over several hours or even days; what could provoke its appearance (excessive physical effort, hypothermia, stress); what other symptoms accompany pain attacks - fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or, conversely, constipation, which lasted several days. All this data will help to draw morea complete picture of the disease and correctly diagnose.
Pain caused by pathologies of internal organs
The most common causes of back and abdominal pain are pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and urinary system. The same symptoms, but less often, can occur with diseases of the heart and bronchopulmonary system. Consider the most common diseases.
- Pathologies of the genitourinary system (cystitis, pyelo-, glomerulonephritis, urethritis). These diseases often cause back pain below. In addition to the pain syndrome, these pathologies are accompanied by urination disorders (usually increased frequency), a slight increase in temperature, and the presence of blood in the urine. Another pathology that can cause severe pain is urolithiasis and, in particular, renal colic. It is she who can become the reason that the side from the back hurts very much. In this case, irradiation of pain in the groin or thigh is possible.
- Appendicitis: its inflammation is often accompanied by pain, which at first has a diffuse character, and then most often localized in the iliac region on the right. However, it should be borne in mind that in some cases, pain can be observed in other areas of the abdomen. Most often, acute appendicitis is accompanied by subfebrile temperature (37.0), nausea, vomiting, chills.
- Intestinal infections are also becoming a common cause of constant stomach pain. They can be caused by various microorganisms and viruses. With such lesionsthere is a dull, diffuse pain against the background of elevated temperature. In addition, vomiting and diarrhea are observed. There may be mucus or blood in the stool.
- Pancreatitis is also becoming a common cause of abdominal pain and back pain, with pain more often located in the upper sections. They are accompanied by nausea and repeated vomiting that does not bring relief, dry mouth. The tongue is coated with white, with teeth marks around the edges.
- Cholecystitis can cause pain in the right hypochondrium that radiates to the back, right arm, shoulder, under the right shoulder blade. It is accompanied by bitterness in the mouth, nausea, vomiting, after which it becomes easier. Fatty food or shaking in transport can provoke an attack.
- Colitis (intestinal colic) is manifested by diffuse, sharp pains in the navel, accompanied by weakness, chills. In the presence of problems with the intestines, an attack can be provoked by the use of chocolate, coffee, foods high in fiber.
Pathologies of the musculoskeletal system
Various spinal problems can also cause back and stomach pain. Most often, they are pulling or aching in nature and can radiate to the lower extremities and various areas of the abdomen. The following diseases can cause pain:
- osteochondrosis;
- herniated discs;
- spinal injury;
- osteoporosis.
Pathologies of the gynecological sphere
Women quite often have to experience pain of variousintensity in the lower abdomen and lower back. Some of them do not pose a threat to normal life, such as menstrual pain or minor discomfort during pregnancy (in the later stages, pain in the back and lower abdomen is possible - the so-called false contractions). But it happens that pain becomes a signal of serious problems. These include:
- the threat of miscarriage - in the early stages, pain in the lower abdomen and spotting can signal it;
- ectopic pregnancy - manifested by severe (up to loss of consciousness) pain in the right or left lower abdomen;
- similar pains can be the result of ovarian rupture or torsion of the cyst leg;
- Endometriosis is characterized by constant aching pain in the lower back and lower abdomen, aggravated during menstruation.
Causes of pain in men
Men can also "boast" of the pains caused by diseases inherent only in the strong half of humanity. These include:
- prostatitis - pain in this disease is most often localized in the lower back and may increase during urination, radiating to the anus and sacrum;
- genitourinary tract infections are characterized by abdominal pain that gradually spreads to the lower back and radiates to the groin;
- an inguinal hernia causes acute pain, against which a hernial protrusion can be detected.
What to do?
Obviously back and stomach pain can cause a lot ofvarious pathologies. So what do you do if they show up? First of all, do not self-medicate. If you have already been diagnosed, and you are sure that the pain is associated with it, then you can take the medicine. So, with pancreatitis or cholecystitis, as well as with pathologies of the urinary system, pain will help relieve antispasmodics. Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs can alleviate the condition with diseases of the spine. If you have sudden severe abdominal pain, do not waste time - call an ambulance. Remember - for acute pain in the abdomen, if you do not know their exact cause, you can not take any medication. This is done in order not to distort the picture of the disease before diagnosis.
If the cause of the pain is not known, then you should not endure it, wait for it to go away on its own, or self-medicate. Remember that wasted time can lead to the development of serious complications that can be life threatening.
